Scholarships are a great way to make your studies more affordable, enabling you to concentrate on your academic program without the added stress of tuition and living expenses.

Here's a list of scholarships you can apply for if you'd like to get a Master's in Switzerland as an international student:

University scholarships

Master excellence fellowship

• University: EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne)
• Scholarship award: CHF 10,000 per semester
• Period: four semesters
• Scholarship requirements: Open to citizens of all countries. You must meet certain eligibility criteria related to your admission status and academic qualifications.
• Fields or subjects: Engineering, Computer and Communication Sciences, Basic Sciences, Life Sciences, Management of Technology, Humanities.

ETH Zurich Excellence Masters Scholarship

• University: ETH Zurich
• Scholarship award: CHF 12,000 per semester as well as a tuition fee waiver
• Period: three or four semesters
• Scholarship requirements: To be eligible for the scholarship you must be in the top 10% of your Bachelor’s degree programme.
• Fields or subjects: Architecture and Civil Engineering, Engineering Sciences, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, System-oriented Natural Sciences, Management and Social Sciences.

UNIL Master's grant

• University: Université de Lausanne
• Scholarship award: CHF 1,600 per month, 10 months a year
• Period: one- or two-year master’s programme
• Scholarship requirements: Candidates must have graduated from a foreign university only. You also must have a language level of at least C1 (English or French).
• Eligible programmes: all except School of Medicine, Sciences and Practices of Education, Law, Physical Education and Sport Didactics, Health Sciences, Sustainable Management and Technology.
• Fields or subjects: Biology and Medicine; Law, Criminal Justice and Public Administration; Geosciences and Environment; Business and Economics; Arts; Social and Political Sciences; Theology and Sciences of Religions.

Excellence Scholarship of the University of St. Gallen for Master students

• Scholarship award: CHF 20,000 per programme
• Scholarship requirements: The fund is aimed at highly talented, foreign-language students with a recognised, foreign Bachelor's degree. You must meet the chosen programme requirements as well as various criteria set by the Advice Center for Study Funding.
• Eligible programmes: Strategy and International Management, Quantative Economics and Finance, International Affairs and Finance, Banking and Finance, Marketing Management, Economics, International Law, Accounting and Corporate Finance.

Governmental scholarships

Swiss Government Excellence Art Scholarship

• Scholarship award: CHF 1,920 per month
• Period: one academic year
• Scholarship requirements: Art scholarships only available to citizens of countries with which Switzerland has a reciprocity agreement for art scholarships. Applicants must be born after 31 December 1988

Major-specific scholarships

Excellence Master Fellowship at the University of Geneva

The Faculty of Science, in collaboration with external partners, has created an Excellence Fellowship initiative for exceptional and driven students who are interested in pursuing a Master of Science degree in one of the fields offered by the Faculty.

• Programmes: all programmes at the Faculty of Science
• Period: three or four semesters
• Scholarship award: 10,000 to 15,000 CHF/year
• Scholarship requirements: Open to all students who fulfill the enrollment procedure.

Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Scholarship

Geneva Academy Scholarships allow talented young people who otherwise could not afford it to follow their programmes and subsequently pursue a career in the human rights, humanitarian and justice sectors.

• Programmes: Innovation through Business, Engineering and Design or Forestry for Green Sustainable Development
• Period: 10 months
• Scholarship award: full tuition fees and/or living expenses
• Scholarship requirements: Full scholarships are available for citizens of non-western countries and EU citizens can receive partial scholarships.

Göhner scholarship for teachers in training

The Swiss Study Foundation, in partnership with the Ernst Göhner Foundation, grants scholarships to aspiring education professionals who seek to enroll in or have already been accepted to Swiss Study Foundation programs but lack the necessary financial means to support their studies. Membership is open to international students, but you’ll need to speak at least two of Switzerland’s national language.

• Scholarship award: CHF 1,200 monthly
• Period: up to six semesters
• Scholarship requirements: Open only to students who meet the admission conditions and wish to actively participate in the Swiss Study Foundation funding program can apply.
• Fields of study: for future teachers at all school levels, from kindergarten to gymnasium.

Ernst Göhner Scholarship for Artists in Training

• Scholarship award: CHF 1,200 monthly
• Period: up to six semesters
• Scholarship requirements: You must meet certain admission criteria and wish to actively participate in the Foundation’s programme.
• Fields of study: for artists-in-training from different fields of art (including design, architecture being excluded)

Privately funded scholarships

The Nestlé Scholarship for Women at IMD

Through IMD’s strong ties with Nestlé, in 1997, the IMD MBA Nestlé Scholarship for Women was launched, and has been supporting future women leaders ever since.

• Scholarship award: CHF 25,000
• Scholarship requirements: Preference given to women from developing countries. You also must write an essay.
• Fields of study: Business Administration

Hirschmann grant

The Hirschmann Foundation makes one-off grants available to students pursuing a consecutive master's degree at a Swiss university of applied sciences to promote education and training.

• Scholarship award: CHF 5,000 (CHF 10,000 in very rare cases)
• Scholarship requirements: You must have completed your bachelor’s degree studies with above-average results, wish to pursue a master’s degree at a federally recognised Swiss university of applied sciences and participate in a Policy Kitchen.
• Fields of study: applied sciences

Heyning-Roelli Scholarship for exchange students

The Heyning-Roelli Foundation provides scholarships to talented but financially underprivileged students for travel and subsistence expenses.

• Period: one or two semesters
• Scholarship requirements: You must meet certain criteria for exchange studies and be highly qualified for the chosen studies.
• Fields of study: all except applied sciences

Find even more scholarships:

• Master's Scholarships Directory for International Students
• Secure a Scholarship: 5 Insider Tips from a Scholarship Winner
• What is an Erasmus Mundus Scholarship?
• British Council Scholarships for Women in STEM Explained